The present invention relates generally to brackets or connectors for building materials, and more particularly to a connecting bracket providing a comprehensive positive connection between a support column and a slab, pier, girder or structural frame of a building.
With the escalating costs of building materials, especially lumber, many companies have developed pre-engineered polymer and fiberglass materials for use as support structures in commercial and residential construction.
At the same time, the monumental costs for rebuilding inferior structures after natural disasters has caused communities to enact tougher building codes and standards to minimize damage from future natural disasters, thereby hopefully lowering replacement costs and saving lives.
Accordingly, building designers and engineers must now factor both cost and safety requirements into their new designs.
In particular, hollowed polymer and fiberglass columns are used extensively for porches, porticos, decks, as well as interior design appurtenances. A problem arises when a contractor seeks to secure these columns to the structural counterparts they transfer the loads to. While the particular column manufacturing company typically supplies a technical data sheet for installation, such data sheets are often incomplete, or provide minimal guidelines. Frequently, the contractor is instructed to check with local state and/or federal building codes for proper installation. In a bit of circular logic, many of the building codes themselves (e.g., the International Building Code or IBC) will state that a product should be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's product specification.
Left with minimal guidance and subjective standards, many contractors/installers resort to ad hoc or self-created connection mechanisms, with the result that such structures are not in compliance with building codes, and are inadequate to properly withstand the wind, seismic or other destructive forces experienced in natural disasters.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, installers generally use “L” shaped brackets 90 to connect the support column 80 to wherever they can get an attachment point on the structural frame 95. In some cases, there may be three (or more) attachment points, but in other cases there are two attachment points, and in egregious cases, only one attachment point. The attachments points are usually covered with a decorative collar, so it is difficult for anyone to determine the structural integrity of the project.
In any case, these “L” brackets provide limited axial load support, load transfer, lateral support and shear value from the column 80 to the structural counterpart 95. These concentrated point connections do not transfer the load around the entire circumference of the column, severely reducing the load transfer capabilities for wind, snow, seismic and lateral forces.
In another typical installation shown in FIG. 2, a lag bolt 140 or concrete bolt is fastened to the end of a strap or cable 145. This device is threaded through the hollow column 80 and then secured to the structural component above the column. This method limits the lateral impact to the column and is also harder to install. That is because the process involves jacking (in the direction denoted by the arrow 150) of the upper load to slide the structural hollow column 80 into its final location.
What is needed, therefore, is a connecting bracket that provides a shear connection around the entire circumference or perimeter of the column. What is also needed is a device that can connect and transfer the loads efficiently and with stronger lateral integrity.